Organic, social & brand marketing

Books and taxes for social media management agencies.

Monthly retainers billed by how many apps you run, batch content shoots, a small boost budget a client hands over to spend, and freelance editors on every account. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
FebruaryExample month
$9,200
what you made

February came in at $9,200. Client A handed over a boost budget for one campaign, so I kept that separate from your fee, it is their money to spend, not yours to keep.

  • Retainer, Client A, 3 appsRetainer revenue
  • Boost budget, Client AClient ad budget pass-through
  • Freelance video editorContractor payouts
  • Sprout Social subscriptionScheduling software
  • Instagram boost spendClient ad budget pass-through
Money in$29,800
Money out$20,600
Set aside for taxes$2,200
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Social media agency books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees a client payment and a pile of software bills. Your business is retainers priced by how many apps you run, a client's ad budget passing through your account for a post you boosted, and a rotating bench of editors and photographers. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell what the agency actually kept.

  1. 1

    A client's boost budget looks like your income

    A client wires $2,000 to boost a post and you spend it on their behalf inside Instagram or TikTok's own tools. Booked as revenue, it makes the agency look like it earned money that was never really yours to keep.

    What we doBooks a client's boost or ad budget as a pass-through, in and back out, so your real fee never gets confused with money you were only holding.
  2. 2

    A retainer priced per app hides which app pays

    One retainer covers Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn for a client, billed as one number. When one app takes three times the editing hours of the others, you cannot see it in a single lump retainer figure.

    What we doTracks contractor hours and cost against each client account, so you can see which retainers are worth what you charge for them.
  3. 3

    A content shoot day gets billed like a subscription

    A quarterly content batch shoot with a freelance photographer costs real money in one push, but it often gets logged next to your monthly software bills, so a normal month looks like costs spiked for no reason.

    What we doFlags a batch shoot as its own project cost, so a big one-time expense does not read like your regular monthly overhead grew.
  4. 4

    Editors paid per video blur into one payroll-looking line

    Freelance editors paid per video or per week across several clients look like one payroll expense, so nobody can tell what content actually costs to produce for any one account.

    What we doKeeps editor pay tied to the account it served, so you can see real cost per client, not just a total contractor bill.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a social media agency.

Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Retainer revenueMonthly billing for ongoing posting and community management, by how many apps you run.
  • Content shoot feesOne-time batch shoot days billed apart from the monthly retainer.
  • Client ad budget pass-throughBoost or promotion money a client hands over to spend on their post.
  • Strategy and audit feesOne-time content strategy or account audit engagements.

Money out

  • Contractor payoutsFreelance editors, photographers, and community managers paid through Upwork or direct invoice.
  • Scheduling softwareSprout Social, Buffer, Later, and Hootsuite.
  • Client ad budget pass-throughThe boost or promotion spend itself, matched to what a client handed over.
  • Stock and design licensesCanva, stock video, and stock music for client content.
  • Coworking and officeShared office space or a home office setup.
  • Business developmentThe agency's own proposal and outreach tools.

What we watch for you

  • Retainer revenue

    The recurring fee you actually earn, separate from any client budget passing through.

  • Cost per client

    What editors and contractors cost against each account's retainer.

  • Boost pass-through

    How much client ad money moves through your account, kept apart from your own revenue.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month so tax season never competes with a client launch.

Ask Gus

Things social media agency owners ask Gus.

Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.

A client wired me $2,000 to boost their posts. Does that count as income?

No. I booked it as money passing through, in when it arrived and out when it was spent, so it never gets counted as your fee or taxed like it was.

One retainer covers three apps but feels like way more work than the others I bill the same. Can you tell?

I can show you contractor hours tied to that account against what it pays. Worth a look before your next renewal talk.

Do I need to send a 1099 to the freelance editor I use every week?

If you pay her $2,000 or more this year and she is not on payroll, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.

The tax side

The tax side of a social media agency.

Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as income. A client's boost budget booked like a fee, an editor treated like an employee, and a set-aside nobody started until April.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Client ad budgets are not your incomeMoney a client hands over for you to spend on boosting their posts is not agency revenue. It passes through, in and back out, and only your management fee counts as what you earned.
  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, a freelance editor or photographer, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated agencies can take up to 20 percent off their taxable business profit. Past roughly $200,000 single, the accountant checks how much of that still holds.
  • Self-employment taxA solo owner without a payroll setup owes 15.3 percent in self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the Social Security wage base.

Deductions social media management agencies miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Sprout Social or Buffer subscription
  • Canva and design tools
  • Stock video and music licenses
  • Freelance editor payments
  • Photographer day rates
  • Content shoot props and locations
  • Business phone and internet
  • Coworking space
  • Conference tickets and travel
  • Website hosting for the agency
  • Accounting and legal fees
  • Proposal and outreach software

General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.

All year, not just April

A social media agency's year, kept every month.

Content calendars run every week of the year, but tax deadlines do not move. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Start the year right

    Last year's return gets started, the editor and photographer 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed, signed, done

    Your return is filed and signed, with no surprise bill, since the set-aside has been running every month since January.

  3. July

    Halfway point

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether new retainers or content shoots changed the number.

  4. October

    Before content planning

    Clients start planning next year's content and boost budgets. Gus looks at cost per client before those renewal talks.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.

Book a call
  • Monthly bookkeeping

    Every transaction sorted into categories set up for social media management agencies. You never categorize a thing.

  • An accountant checks every transaction

    Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.

  • Your business tax return, filed

    Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.

  • The monthly number

    What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.

  • Your own bookkeeper

    A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.

  • On your books all year

    Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.

  • Cancel any time

    No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.

Straight answers

Questions social media agency owners ask first.

A client sends me money to boost their posts. Does Gus count that as agency income?

No. Gus books it as a pass-through, in when it arrives and out when it is spent on the boost, so your taxable income only reflects the fee you actually earned.

I bill one retainer that covers three different apps. Can Gus break down what each one actually costs me?

Yes. Gus tracks contractor hours and costs tied to each client account, so you can see which apps take more work than the retainer accounts for.

A big content shoot day made this month's expenses look huge. Is that a problem?

No. Gus flags a batch shoot as its own project cost, so it reads as a one-time expense rather than your regular monthly overhead growing.

Do I need paperwork for the freelance editors I use across different client accounts?

Anyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more this year gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list current across every editor you use.

My books mix client boost money with my own agency revenue right now. Can that get untangled?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus separates what was client ad spend from what was your fee, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.

Is a real accountant checking my books?

Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.

What does it cost, and can I cancel?

It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.

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We keep books for the business next door too.

What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for

Book a call

Pick a time. That's the whole signup.

Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.

  • $197 a month to start
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever